No dessert until you’ve finished your…MOLD? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Plant-based and vegetarian meals are great choices because of their health and environmental benefits. But how can we make meat alternatives taste like the REAL thing? There’s a fungus among us—an edible type
Continue readingAuthor: Kathryn Uchida
Pigeons Dreams
Ever dream of flying? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. During sleep, our brains alternate through dream AND non-dream states. But does this happen in other species as well? Gianina Ungurean and team from Ruhr University Bochum explored this – in PIGEONS!
Continue readingTemperature and Tentacles
Chilly… frozen fresh… octopodes?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Octopuses experience drastic temperature changes in the ocean. But they can’t regulate their body temperature like mammals. So, how do they stay warm? Matthew Birk and team from the Marine Biological Laboratory
Continue readingMini Lungs
Take a deep breath… or a miniature one! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Scientists want to learn more about how viruses like Covid-19 are able to infiltrate our lungs. However, research using real patients can be challenging, since each patient’s lungs can
Continue readingLife’s Soupy Start
Primordial soup? Yum! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Scientists propose that life on earth started as a warm primordial puddle of life-sustaining compounds. But HOW? Zhong Yin and team from ETH Zurich and the University of Geneva wanted to find out.
Continue readingCorrecting Concrete
Did ancient Romans CRACK the construction code? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. The Colosseum, the Pantheon, the ancient Catacombs… Roman architecture has stood for millenia. But how has it survived for SO LONG? Enter Linda Seymour and team from MIT. The team analyzed the
Continue readingJack and the Beans Talk
Can you be-LEAF what your plants are saying? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. If only house plants could just TELL us when they need water! Or can they? Itzhak Khait from Tel-Aviv University and team investigated. Researchers put plants near microphones that pick up
Continue readingPee is for Propulsion
New insight on jet technology from… insect pee?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Attention 11 year olds! What do ‘butt-flickers,’ ‘frass-shooters,’ and ‘turd-hurlers’ have in common? They’re all sharpshooter insects that shoot their pee! And they can do it super fast. But how? Elio
Continue readingKiss Off, Disease!
Wear your lipstick like warpaint… against DISEASE?! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. We’re all told to “wrap it up” in sex ed. No glove, no love… or something like that. But that does NOTHING for kissing. How can we smooch safely? Alberto Tuñón-Molina and
Continue readingUnlocked Memories
*YAWN* Where’s my… what was I looking for again? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Ever get a bad night’s sleep and totally space on something important the next day? Like a great idea or… a wedding anniversary? Are those forgotten memories gone FOREVER? Can
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